Scheduling Software Helps Small Businesses Increase Productivity & Maximize Profits – Find Out How
The Fiscal Policy Institute’s Immigration Research Center conducted a study of businesses with fewer than 100 employees to determine how many businesses are owned by those who came to America from abroad. They also wanted to determine what types of businesses immigrants gravitate toward, and if they grow their companies in the same way as native-born entrepreneurs.
Their findings show conclusively that immigrant small business owners are playing a large role in today’s economy, a role that has grown over the past 25 years in step with the increasing immigrant share of the labor force. owners.
Findings also reveal that professional services were the most popular job and wealth-creating sector of immigrant owned businesses, followed by
- retail
- construction
- education
- social services
- hospitality
- manufacturing.
In this article we will use these businesses as examples in examining how scheduling software helps each of these industries to thrive.
Professional Services
Professional services automation (PSA) software provides project management and resource allocation tools for client projects. PSA systems are multi-faceted project tools used for time tracking, expense management, billing, invoicing, and resource and labor allocation. PSA software also provides project and resource management to improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability of project operations. These systems can be integrated with existing accounting software, CRM software, and payroll software to make a more comprehensive solution. PSA software has similarities to ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, differing in the sense that PSA product are specifically tailored to the professional services industry.
Retail
A significant demand for retail warehouse management systems was created by the development of e-commerce and increased technological investment in emerging regions such as North America and Asia-Pacific. In basic terms, implementing warehouse automation management using various technologies is cutting expenses of workforce allocation. Retail warehouse management systems aids in streamlining the operation of logistics and product scheduling in retail enterprises as well as supply chain management. Benefits of this system include inventory reduction and efficiency, reduced labor costs, and better customer service. Advanced technologies used in retail warehousing also provides control over material handling equipment which helps in the efficiency of moving goods in a warehouse.
Construction
Scheduling software for the construction industry helps employers offset the cost of backend administration while also helping to manage employees more effectively and in compliance with Federal and State wage-hour laws. It allows construction companies to easily schedule laborers and equipment simultaneously while having the ability to view everything on a comprehensive single-view timeline including the schedule of activities for each project. This all-inclusive view includes start to finish dates, percentage of the job complete, critical and non-critical activities, slack time, and predecessor relationships. It can also provide a mobile time and attendance application with GPS tracking for managing remote construction workers. Other features include crew clock-in and clock-out, photo capture capability and digital signature signoff.
Scheduling Software Helps Small Businesses Increase Productivity & Maximize Profits
Education
Proper scheduling in an educational institution requires administrators, among other responsibilities, to determine how many seats are available in each class, the class level of difficulty, and if classes are open to students in equitable fashion. Personal attention to the scheduling of students takes a tremendous amount of time and resources and can be the difference in whether schools are setting up students to succeed or fail. Fortunately, scheduling software for education comes fully customizable so educators and school administrators can tailor it to their specific needs. In addition to student and class management, faculty are able to manage daily, weekly and monthly schedules. Administrators can view teachers’ shifts, tasks, breaks, requests for time off and locations through either a monthly view or a daily schedule view.
Social Services
Scheduling software for social services tracks the information needed to work with a client, such as their age, address, job history, medical history and childcare situation. It will also track all the communications between a staff and the client, the client’s individualized plan of action, and the progress being made in implementing the plan. Scheduling software will also provide means to assess outcomes and report on all the information collected. Advanced case management systems can do even more, such as helping with workflow and scheduling, recommending and scheduling healthcare professionals, and automating billing processes.
Hospitality
A good scheduling suite solves virtually all of the unique staffing challenges faced by hospitality managers every day. These include managing employee clock-in and out, finding last-minute replacements, real-time schedule access, text alerts, and labor reporting tools for complex schedules and multiple locations. Additionally, managers can easily track equipment and maintain staff communication via text or email and troubleshoot any issues that arise. Forecasting report capability also offers the ability to manage cost overruns before they happen.
Manufacturing
The manual processing of employee time and attendance records in a manufacturing facility normally requires a tremendous investment of time and money. From collecting, processing and transporting paper time sheets, to sorting, categorizing and storing them after they are entered into the system, it is a time consuming process that cannot be accurately accounted for. Scheduling software, on the other hand, eliminates these challenges and automates administrative functions. Today’s suites handle time and attendance, time allocation, access control, and employee self-service through clocking-in options like web-based, biometric scanners, text alert and land line clocking, and mobile clocking. These highly adaptable systems are easy to use and integrate into any manufacturing environment.
Conclusion…
No matter what type of small business you run, integrating an employee scheduling software package can streamline operations and eliminate headaches. The benefits to implementing a scheduling software suite are many including:
- increased efficiency and productivity
- ease of scheduling
- reduced costs
- ability to take an administrative task off a business owner’s hands so he or she can focus their time on more important things—like getting back to the business of making money.
